Man Therapy ad is insulting

[Nickname_ACF1BBD7-2848-45]

I find the advert an insult to any man an insult and a joke. Has anyone, who did the writing and the making, of this mindless advert, any insight to having, or knowing someone close to them, with depression? If so, it does not show in the advert.

Depression is far from a joke. The ripple effect it has on a mans life, his family, friends, work, financially, socially and emotionally goes far beyound the 2500 words I am allowed. Having worked in Mental Health for many years, I have seen the devastation affect this has on the person and the people around them; and from a personal aspect, the pain, the hurt your loved one is going through. The helpless feeling (you can work in Mental Health, but when it is your own, it is different), not knowing how they feel, not (always) knowing what is going on, because they are hiding their emotions. As parents we have a lot to learn and also teach our children, that little boys do cry and it is okay to show your emotions. It does not make you less of a man. Perhaps more of a man.

This advert does not show any of this mentioned above. I have sons, brothers, a good father, great uncles and male friends, and I find it insulting, that depression is made into a joke. It is no joke when men take their own life; which research has proven men are much more likely to take their own life than women.

Who are you people?

Ellen

[white knight]

Hi Guest, welcome

This forum is largely made up of people with mental illness or their carers. I suggest you wrote to the appropriate department for the complaint you are targeting.

I don't know what advert you are referring to but I'll personally back Beyond Blue's intentions every time.

If you scroll through the thousands of posts here on this forum you'll get a better "feel" for the organisations aims.

Tony WK

[geoff]

dear Ellen, hi and thanks for giving us the opportunity to talk to you.

I'm not sure which ad you are referring to as there have been many, however can I say that depression in all it's dread that we could get it, can be hidden in so many different ways, although the common denominator is being sad and withdrawing to our own world.

An ad could be developed around a group of people laughing away and having what seems to be in a good situation, but exit one person who goes home and then reveals his true colour and his/her depression then comes back into affect, where they have been for many months.

We have to look objectively into why this ad was created.

I would also want to back Beyond Blue in all their efforts they are doing to get people to understand this illness, as it's been a long illness that has been kept under the sheets for far too long. Geoff.

[White_Rose]

Dear Ellen

Hello and welcome to Beyond Blue. It's sad that you are offended by an advertisement put out by BB and I wonder what it was that touched you so painfully. I gather you have personal experience of depression in both your professional and family life. And of course you are quite right, it is a devastating illness for the person concerned and the family.

People do take their own lives because the pain so great. If you read through the posts here you will find many people who tried to take their owns lives. I am one of those people. But I am here and learning to live again with the help of all the fantastic people who write in here. Every time I answer a post I find I am talking to myself as much as to the other. We are safe here to express our anguish and sorrow and to pass on to others those things that have helped.

A reason for the 2,500 character limit is to get people to stick to the point rather than ramble around. It is also far easier for readers to understand the writer's difficulty and respond. Anyone can write a second or third post about other problems and discuss these with the forum. The limit is a benefit for both reader and writer.

Like Tony and Geoff, I have no idea what advert you are referring to. Could you write in again and describe this for us? I am certain that BB will be only too keen to talk to you about this and explain the whys etc. Beyond Blue is very well respected in the general community and takes its role seriously. Distressing or offending anyone is not what it is about. There is an email facility on the page which you could use but it would be more effective if you looked up the phone and address details in the phone book and made contact directly. I hope you will do this.

Many of the people who work for BB have experienced a mental illness of some sort and are extremely sensitive to the needs and feelings of others. I think they will be quite hurt that you consider them insensitive.

Would you please write in again and let us talk to you about your very obvious pain and sadness. We could become forum friends and help each other.

I send you a cyber hug and hope it will soothe your pain.

Mary

[Chris_B]

Hi Ellen,

Welcome to the forums. As our other members have said, beyondblue have a huge range of resources, videos and adverts targeted at different population groups - I am guessing you are referring to our Man Therapy campaign.

Here is some background on why we are using humour in this campaign: independent research which we carried out during the development of the campaign showed us that humour provides a bridge for men to discuss and engage with this potentially difficult topic – which is what we hope we’ve achieved with Davo and Man Therapy. Man Therapy doesn’t set out to make fun of depression and anxiety; its particular use of humour is intended to communicate  warmth, approachability and is non-judgemental.   Instead of relying on stereotypes around ‘blokeyness’ and what it means to be a man, Man Therapy is poking fun at them.  We know that many men don’t seek help because they fear it will make them look less masculine. Our message is that you can still be a ‘man’ and seek support for your mental health. 

The experiences of real men form a large part of the campaign, you can find videos about their experiences  – stories of men from all walks of life who have overcome some of life’s tough situations - here:

Hope this makes things a bit clearer, and thanks for your feedback.

For those that haven't seen it, one of the new ads is below - keen to hear your comments:

[zc88]

I'll be honest, I completely agree with the OP.

I've been looking for a place for a while, where I can express and discuss the issues I'm going through.

I'd heard about Beyond Blue before, and was summoning up the courage to join.

But as soon as I saw the Man Therapy ads, I was immediately deterred. It really did feel like they were trying to make light of a very serious situation.... and as someone who is in pretty deep right now, the last thing I personally wanted to do was joke about it.

When I saw my friends and family laughing about the ad, both in person and over social media, it seems to indicate that it has achieved one of it's goals; to entertain. But i really feel it missed the mark with the most important goal.

It's now been a while, and I'm not seeing the ads (mainly because I don't really watch TV anymore, i have no idea if it's still being aired), so I decided to give it a go.

I really hope my gut instincts about joining were wrong, so that remains to be seen. I'm sure they were, but I can't help but feel a little on-edge about it

[Chris_B]

Hi zc88, welcome to the forums.  Sorry to hear the ads didn't resonate with you, but glad you still took the time to join up. It's a big step to post on here for the first time, and it's really common for new members to feel on edge or anxious about posting. Hopefully after reading through some of the threads here you're feeling a bit more comfortable - jump in on any of the discussions happening, we're a friendly bunch here. Look forward to hearing more from you.